SOMWaD: CCRAP Numbers

In 4th grade, which was the first CCRAP experience we had my son performed at Level 4 for Language Arts and Literacy.  His score was 3 points over the Level 4 cut off.  His math performance was at Level 3, which is obviously not as good as Level 4.  Supposedly that means he was approaching expectations.  (Who's expectations, I'm not exactly sure.)  His score was just a few points under what it would have taken to be Level 4.  (So he was just shy of achieving the "Met Expectations" level.)

In 5th grade, his second year of CCRAP he performed at Level 4 for Language Arts and Literacy.  This time his number was slightly higher.  Moving towards the middle of the "Met Expectations" range, but not close to the Exceeded Expectations.  In Math, he was still at the Level 3 but higher than the year before (but not by much.)

In reviewing the school, district and state averages for this past year, I see that in Language Arts and Literacy he is above the all the averages and in Math he is slightly below.  (He is much more above score wise, in Language Arts and Literacy when it comes to averages, than he is below in Math averages.)

What does any of this mean?  Absolutely nothing.  Spend one day with my kid in school and you could have predicted exactly what these "scores" supposedly told me.  He's slightly above average in one realm and slightly below average in another.  Academically, he is NOT incredibly gifted, nor is he in need of any special assistance.  CCCRAP tells me what I have known all along; he is an average kid.

Period.

Two years; two CCRAP tests.  He's average.  He's not extraordinary.  (At least according to their metric.)  He's a kid.  An average kid.

So what is the point of this test?  I could have told you what the results "said" years before.  Every teacher who has ever had him as a student could probably say the same thing.  And I'm betting that for as many CCRAP test as he may take in his life, he will continue to have the same results.

The test is pretty much pointless.  The "results" tell me what I already know.  And what the results don't say is that my kid is generally good, kind, caring and thoughtful.  These are all things that in addition to educational skills will shape the adult that he is to become.

So if this test isn't telling me (and anyone else) anything new about my kid.  If it isn't helping him in any way that I can see.  (If is supposed to, I don't see it, so please point it out.)  Isn't it time to cut the CCRAP and get back to basics?

Let teachers teach.  Have parents parent.  Most importantly, let kids be kids.  (Which I have come to realize sometimes means having a messy house while the kid goes outside to play with his friends instead of forcing him to clean up the mess that he invariably made.)

Kids doing kid things.  That's NOT CCRAP.  In fact, it just might be more educational than any test anyone could give.

As my son would say:  ya think?